Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1906 — TALK ABOUT NERVE. [ARTICLE]

TALK ABOUT NERVE.

The fellow who sold the lake front at Chicago to a gullible western visitor will have to look after his laurels, for last week a tall, seedy looking fellow giving the name of Ed Johnson, appeared at a butcher shop in Knox and wanted to sell a cow. The butcher talked with him awhile, supposing him to be from near town, and told him to bring around the cow and he would buy her if she was in good condition. Some two hours later he again appeared, leading a fine black cow, and the butcher paid him S3O in good hard coin for the animal and led her to his barn lot to be taken from thence to the slaughter house, the fellow mumbling something about hating to part with her, but was hard up. The country Jake disappeared after getting his money and everything moved along serenely until Henry R. Robbins, an attorney of Knox, meandered out to his stable to milk his cow, when he found the animal gone from her accustomed place. Inquiries and searching about town finally located the cow in the butcher’s barn lot. The long, hungry looking “country Jake” had stolen the lawyer’s cow, sold it to the butcher and left for other pastures green.